Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening
by WingedPegasus
Summary: Catra wasn't scared of thunder. She was almost eight years old, a junior cadet, and junior cadets were not scared of thunder. More importantly, she was Catra, and Catra was not scared of anything—least of all a stupid storm. (tumblr prompt: the first time Catra ended up sleeping at the foot of Adora's bed.)


_So, I recently hit 1,000 followers on tumblr (YIKES!) and did a short fic giveaway. This was the winner's prompt:_ _a one shot set back before Adora left the Horde. Maybe the first time Catra ends up sleeping at the foot of Adora's bed? Friendship - Doomed, doomed, doomed friendship. Given the fact that she's a cat it could be because of a storm or something._

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Catra wasn't scared of thunder.

She was almost eight years old, a junior cadet, and junior cadets were not scared of thunder. More importantly, she was Catra, and Catra was not scared of _anything_—least of all a stupid storm. Even if the barracks _were_ on the top floor, and a thin metal roof was all that separated her from the crack of thunder and the roar of driving rain.

The worst part was that she used to _like _thunderstorms. That all changed a few months ago, however, when Shadow Weaver decided that her score in survival training was unacceptably low and decided to give her an additional test. A "pass/fail exam," she'd called it. What it really consisted of was throwing her outside in the middle of the worst thunderstorm the Fright Zone had seen with no warning, no protection, no supplies, and no way back in.

She didn't know if Shadow Weaver had expected balls of ice to fall from the sky—hail, she later learned it was called—but it did. And it hurt. A lot. The deafening cracks of thunder hurt her ears, too, and by the time Adora figured out what happened she'd been outside for hours, reduced to a soaked, bruised, sobbing lump huddled on the ground near one of the locked entryways.

So, yeah. She didn't like thunderstorms anymore.

But that didn't mean she was _scared_ of them.

A long, low rumble of thunder made the frame of the bunkbed vibrate, and her fingers tightened on the edge of the mattress, claws sinking into the stiff material. That was fine. It was quiet, predictable. She could almost pretend it was like a big purr from the sky.

Then came a _crack_ of thunder so loud that it shook the entire room, and if she jumped any higher she would've hit the ceiling. A startled yelp escaped her and she clamped her mouth shut. Not-afraid people did _not_ make sounds like that.

"Catra?" The voice from the bed below hers was quiet, thick with sleep.

She took a deep breath, hoping her own voice wouldn't shake. "What do you want, Adora?"

A displeased grumble came from one of the other cadets, and Adora apparently decided that calling up her answer wouldn't be the smartest choice. Instead, her reply came in the form of two soft knocks against the bedframe—their code for "Let's talk."

Sighing, Catra crawled to the edge of the bed and swung down, almost landing on top of Adora. She barely flinched, too busy sleepily rubbing her eyes with one hand. Catra didn't speak. She just sat across from Adora on the mattress, legs crossed so their knees almost touched, hunched over in what she hoped was an annoyed posture.

"Are you okay?" Adora whispered.

Catra hunched further. "Of course I am," she hissed back. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just thought—" Adora stopped for a moment. "I mean, I couldn't sleep. The storm was too loud."

_Liar,_ Catra thought, watching Adora stifle a yawn.

"And that really loud thunder just now kind of scared me," Adora continued.

_Uh-huh_. Catra's tail swished behind her in annoyance.

Adora scooted backward until she was leaning against the cool metal wall, then patted the mattress next to her. Catra raised an eyebrow, then slowly crawled over and sat next to her, their shoulders touching. She hadn't realized she'd been trembling until it suddenly lessened at the contact.

There was silence for a moment, except for the ever-present sounds of the storm outside, then Adora started talking again.

"I thought it was stupid of me to be scared of the storm, but then I remembered something I found in a book," she whispered, even quieter now that they were closer. "Being brave isn't not being afraid, it's getting through something anyway even though you _are_ afraid."

It was a nice thought. Not true, but nice.

"Sounds dumb," Catra said.

Adora ignored her. "Not being scared of things that are scary doesn't mean you're brave, it just means you're stupid. You have to be scared in order to be brave. And you have to be strong in order to be brave. So, logically—"

They had just covered logic on one of their classes, so naturally Adora latched onto it and now used "logic" as often as possible. It was almost endearing, but mostly annoying.

"—_logically_," Adora finished, "You have to be afraid to be strong."

"Adora. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Is not!" she said indignantly. A little too indignantly; another cadet stirred in the dark at her voice. Catra hissed for her to be quiet.

"Is not," she repeated, softer.

Catra snorted quietly. "That's not what our teachers say."

"Yeah, well, I like what the book said better," Adora replied, stifling another yawn as she let her head fall to Catra's shoulder. Catra felt herself relaxing a little further.

"Where'd you even find a book that says stuff like that?"

Adora's eyes had closed, but now they opened a sliver and her lips curled up in a mischievous grin.

"Somewhere I wasn't supposed to be."

Catra gasped in only partially feigned offense. "And you didn't take me?"

"I didn't know if I could get in!" Adora protested. "I'll take you next time. Promise."

"You'd better."

As much as she hated to admit it, Catra was starting to feel… better. Rain still poured onto the roof and occasional low rumbles of thunder rattled the barracks, but the tension she'd felt since the storm first began was beginning to unravel. At her side, Adora's breathing had become more even, and her head suddenly slipped forward off Catra's shoulder before she caught herself and jerked awake.

Catra pushed her shoulder gently. "Go to sleep, idiot."

"Mmg," Adora mumbled.

She wasn't about to let her stupid fear of a thunderstorm keep Adora awake. Shadow Weaver pushed all of them hard, but Adora even harder. She needed sleep.

Catra pushed Adora upright and started to get up to return to her own bed, but then Adora latched onto her arm.

"Stay here?" Adora asked, eyes wide and pleading.

To be honest, Catra wasn't looking forward to returning to her bed. The storm seemed to have lessened somewhat, but she knew the low rumbles could turn to another startling crash of thunder at any moment. Somehow, it was easier to be brave down here.

Catra almost felt like thanking Adora for asking her to stay. So instead, she said: "You're a big baby."

Adora smiled.

As small as they were, there was plenty of room at the end of Adora's bed. Catra stifled a yawn of her own and curled up on the stiff mattress just beneath Adora's feet.

"G'night, Catra," came a whisper from above her.

Fondess tugged in Catra's chest. "Night, Adora," she whispered back.

She breathed deeply and let her eyes drift closed, hoping that with the familiar scent of the blanket beneath her and the warmth she could _almost_ feel nearby, she might finally be able to sleep.

A _crash_ of thunder rattled the barracks, and she immediately tensed.

Adora shifted, and through the blanket, Catra felt the gentle press of a foot against her side. She expected her to pull back after realizing the contact, but instead it stayed there, warm and strangely comforting.

Catra sighed, letting her eyes slip shut again.

Someday, she'd be so strong she wouldn't be afraid of anything.

But right now… maybe she didn't have to be.

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_This was written SUPER fast for me and isn't really edited, but hopefully it's still enjoyable! If any of you use tumblr, I'm there as __ adoras-last-braincell. :)_


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